"Eyes on Supreme Court in Execution Case Tuesday": In Tuesday's edition of The New York Times, Linda Greenhouse will have an article that begins, "By 6 p.m. Tuesday, when a Mississippi inmate is scheduled to die by lethal injection, the Supreme Court may give the clearest indication so far of whether it intends to call a halt to all such executions while a case from Kentucky that the justices accepted last month remains undecided."

"Clarence Thomas at Baltimore Book Party":This post appears today at The Washington Post's "Maryland Moment" blog.Posted at 10:50 PM by Howard Bashman"Bursting the dam on judicial nominations; Though the big-spending left exacts a price": The Las Vegas Review-Journal today contains an editorial that begins, "On Wednesday, the Senate voted 59-38 to approve the nomination of former Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Those not familiar with the process might figure a vote that lopsided means the nomination didn't generate much controversy."Posted at 10:44 PM by Howard Bashman"Mack prosecutors resume testimony today in Vegas": The Reno Gazette-Journal today contains an article that begins, "After a three-day weekend to observe Nevada Day, prosecutors will resume today trying to prove that Reno businessman Darren Mack is guilty in the fatal stabbing of his wife shooting of the judge who was handling their contentious divorce."

"Is child-porn law too broad? US Supreme Court takes up the case of a man convicted of trying to distribute make-believe porn." Warren Richey will have this article Tuesday in The Christian Science Monitor.Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman"Judge won't block 'moment of silence'": The Chicago Tribune provides a news update that begins, "Despite signaling he has concerns about a new state law mandating a moment of silence in Illinois public schools, a federal judge today declined to issue a temporary restraining order that would have prevented a period of reflection at Buffalo Grove High School beginning Tuesday."

"Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Kickback Case": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "William Lerach, a former partner at a prestigious New York law firm, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy for his role in a scheme to bribe people to become plaintiffs in lucrative class-action lawsuits."Posted at 03:11 PM by Howard Bashman"Federal courts are not comprised of philosopher-kings or legislative aides, and the Constitution forbids us from pontificating about abstractions in the law or merely giving advice about the potential legal deficiencies of a law or policy when no ongoing controversy exists with respect to that law or policy." So writes Fourth Circuit Chief Judge Karen J. Williams, on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of that court, in dismissing as moot a South Carolina state prison inmate's First Amendment challenge to a policy that prevents inmates in the maximum security unit from receiving publications via mail.

As today's ruling explains, because the inmate was released back into the general prison population from the maximum security unit over two years ago, and because the inmate "controls his own fate so far as the prospects for his return to the MSU are concerned," the panel today dismisses the inmate's appeal as moot.Posted at 03:10 PM by Howard Bashman

And an article headlined "Court Declines Alabama Murder Case" begins, "The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a triple-murder case in which the trial prosecutor stood up in court, clapped his hands several times and said 'bravo' after the accused killer finished testifying in his own defense."Posted at 11:03 AM by Howard Bashman

Is that a one-pound package of powder cocaine in your pants or are you just glad to see me? In a decision issued today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirms the suppression of a one-pound package of powder cocaine discovered during the pat-down search of a car passenger. Today's ruling holds that a pat-down search of the passenger was unlawful because the prosecution had failed to show that the police officer had a reasonable suspicion that the passenger was armed and dangerous before conducting the search.Posted at 10:45 AM by Howard BashmanU.S. Supreme Court can't hear case in which seven of that Court's nine Justices are recused: The Order List that the Supreme Court of the United States issued today contains the following order at the bottom of page one:

Because the Court lacks a quorum, 28 U.S.C. §1, and since a majority of the qualified Justices are of the opinion that the case cannot be heard and determined at the next Term of the Court, the judgment is affirmed under 28 U.S.C. §2109, which provides that under these circumstances the Court shall enter its order affirming the judgment of the court from which the case was brought for review with the same effect as upon affirmance by an equally divided Court. Justice Stevens, Justice Scalia, Justice Kennedy, Justice Souter, Justice Thomas, Justice Ginsburg, and Justice Breyer took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.

You can learn a little more about the case in this decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissing the action in October 2006. Ironically, the current lawsuit alleged that these Justices should have recused from deciding the plaintiff's earlier lawsuit. As a result of their recusal from deciding this lawsuit, he again loses.Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman"Supreme Court to Hear Exxon Valdez Case": Mark Sherman of The Associated Press provides this report.

"High court overturns $30 million award in Walter Hollins case": Friday's issue of The Cleveland Plain Dealer contained an article that begins, "Walter Hollins of Cleveland, brain-damaged since birth 20 years ago, must return to court with a new lawyer if he hopes to ever be compensated for his injuries. The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the $30 million verdict that Hollins won in 2004, blaming his attorney, Geoffrey Fieger of Southfield, Mich., for courtroom misconduct that critically tainted the outcome. The verdict was the state's largest medical malpractice award ever. But it was a verdict influenced by passion and tainted by Fieger's theatrics and inappropriate behavior, Justice Terrance O'Donnell wrote in the court's 6-1 opinion."

"Appellate judge called 'out of control'": Today's edition of The San Antonio Express-News contains an article that begins, "Sharon Keller won election to Texas' highest criminal court 13 years ago with a promise to be a staunch supporter of the death penalty and a 'pro-prosecution' judge."Posted at 08:48 AM by Howard Bashman"Floridians head back to court for Big Tobacco fight":This article appears today in The Palm Beach Post.Posted at 08:47 AM by Howard Bashman"Exxon asks high court to void Valdez spill damages; Justices may say today whether they'll hear case involving jury's $2.5 billion award": Patty Reinert has this article today in The Houston Chronicle.

"Enforcing flag law is a long shot": The Omaha World-Herald today contains an article that begins, "Nebraska's law prohibiting flag desecration is the legal equivalent of a butter churn or slide rule: a device that has outlived its usefulness, according to two scholars and a lawyer seeking to declare the law void."

"ABA seeks execution moratorium; Study of states finds 'deeply flawed' process, inequities": The Chicago Tribune contains this article today.Posted at 08:20 AM by Howard Bashman"Checking Child Pornography: The Supreme Court considers a pandering case."This editorial appears today in The Washington Post.Posted at 08:14 AM by Howard Bashman"Good judges: Voters should retain the best and let one go." Today's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette contains an editorial that begins, "Judicial retention elections, until quite recently, have been low-key and easily overlooked. Not this year, not after what happened in 2005. That's when angry voters lashed out at the only statewide candidates on the ballot and threw Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro off the bench. They nearly did the same to Justice Sandra Schultz Newman, who was also on the ballot; she later resigned. That stunning election was a response to a middle-of-the-night pay raise enacted, then rescinded, by the Legislature and to a subsequent state Supreme Court ruling that upheld the increases for judges."

"Muslim Says Copies of Quran Confiscated": Pete Yost of The Associated Press has an article that begins, "A Muslim inmate says prisoners around the country are regularly mistreated by their jailers because of religious faith. The Supreme Court is considering his case Monday. The issue in the inmate's lawsuit is whether he can sue prison officials for allegedly confiscating two copies of his Quran and his prayer rug."Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman"The Wiretap This Time": Studs Terkel has this op-ed today in The New York Times.Posted at 07:55 AM by Howard Bashman"Kent, his accuser in same building": Saturday's edition of The Galveston County Daily News contained an article that begins, "The chief judge of the Southern District of Texas on Friday said he didn't know when -- or whether -- Galveston would get a permanent federal judge. Meanwhile, it was hard to learn the reason why suspended U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent was removed Thursday as Galveston's permanent judge. Some speculated it could be an attempt to inconvenience the judge and get him to resign. Others said it might be an attempt to avoid the appearance that some attorneys would receive favored treatment by filing cases in Galveston. Still others said it might be an attempt to retaliate against a court employee who transferred from Galveston after she made a sexual harassment complaint against the judge. Once he resumes hearing cases in January, Kent will be based primarily in Houston -- in the same building with his accuser."

"Torturing Mukasey: The judge becomes a pawn in the politics of interrogation."This editorial appears today in The Wall Street Journal.Posted at 07:45 AM by Howard Bashman"Bond Funds With $155 Billion Imperiled If U.S. Court Voids Law": Greg Stohr and Jeremy R. Cooke of Bloomberg News have an article that begins, "Municipal-bond investors may be owed billions of dollars, and bond funds holding $155 billion rendered obsolete, as the result of a U.S. Supreme Court fight over state tax powers."Posted at 07:35 AM by Howard Bashman"Why Does the U.S. Sentence Adolescents To Life Without Parole?" Sherry F. Colb has this essay today at FindLaw.Posted at 07:33 AM by Howard Bashman